The Show Must Go On
by secretfanficlover
Summary: Bree Tanner, A Slytherin Fourth year, and her experience during the wizarding war and the prejudice against Slytherin House.


**This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

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Word Count: 1282

Title: The Show Must Go On

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The Golden Snitch

[Name] Crissie

[School] Uagadou

[House] Ogyinae

Olivanders: Write about a Slytherin

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Hogwarts:

Assignment 1: Criminology: Task 1 - Synopsis: Alt: Write about someone trying to understand another person's motivation behind their actions.

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Quidditch League:

Pride of Portee Seeker: The Show Must Go On - Queen

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_Another hero, another mindless crime_

_Behind the curtain, in the pantomime_

_Hold the line, does anybody want to take it anymore?_

It was dark, I was sitting in a corner on my bunk bed waiting for the outcome of the war. We had been separated from the rest of the students; I think our headmaster believes we would be the easiest to sway. All around me I only heard whispers from the students.

"I heard Professor Snape was killed," someone said.

"I heard that too, You-Know-Who sent his snake after him," another person said.

They spoke callously, as if it was just someone that died, and not our head of house that always favored us above all the rest. Yes, he was a terrible headmaster when he was in charge, but they say absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"Bree, why do you look so glum?" Millicent asked suddenly.

"Glum? Never, I'm in thought, that's all," I replied. I wiped my blonde hair out of my face and forced a neutral expression on my face to convince her I felt nothing. I don't think the older girl was satisfied, but she let it go.

I often wondered how they managed to pull off remaining so neutral; did they really not feel anything at all?

Then I heard the boys had created a betting pool on which side was going to win, and I sighed out loud, causing a couple of curious glances in my direction. They must be crazy, how can they act so cavalier about this? It could change all our lives, for better or worse.

The Order of the Phoenix won, but many people died on both sides. My friend, Draco's dad was a Death Eater and had been sent to Azkaban. He had spoken little about his allegiances, but I know he had been expected to follow his father, as was the case with many Slytherins.

As soon as the loyalty of all the Slytherins had been called into question, I was tempted to take my Mother up on the offer of transferring to the Ilvermorny school. My mother had gone there when she was a child, but my Father had insisted I attend Hogwarts, his alma mater, and make him proud by ending up in Slytherin as well. But then I thought, keep my head high, keep your expressions guarded, the show must go on…

_The show must go on_

_Yeah_

_Inside my heart is breaking_

_My make-up may be flaking_

_But my smile still stays on_

My house had been torn. So many Slytherins didn't return the next year. Many of those whose parents got arrested had disappeared, either to another school, or maybe their mothers were homeschooling them? I know my parents felt the stigma against my house when I told them of our former headmaster's words.

I may have seemed the size of a first-year, but I was going into fourth now. It was hard to adjust, I missed Professor Snape and Professor Lupin. I loved both potions and Defence, and I would have fought beside the others had I been given the chance. It was hard to accept that I was "just another Slytherin". I wanted to scream and shout. "We are not all the same!" But I stayed quiet, kept my head down and carried on. I was confused as to the reaction of the students and teachers alike, since didn't the bravery of Professor Snape prove that there is more to us than meets the eye? Why are we being treated this way when it was obvious we weren't all the same?

I was the only Slytherin that requested to go to the funeral of Professor Lupin, I stood there in my black robes, ignoring the fact that I was surrounded by Gryffindors and teachers. I lay a rose on his grave, wiping a single tear from my eye and it fell onto the rose.

Professor Snape's funeral was even worse, the mass of students and teachers had gone down to a handful, and none of his students were there either. I saw the Golden trio, Harry and his friends, but no other student, only me. Only Bree Tanner.

"Would anyone like to say a few words?" Harry Potter asked the few surrounding the coffin.

I didn't know why my pale hand rose to the sky as if to answer a question in class. All eyes fell on me, the tiny Slytherin girl. Harry Potter looked at me curiously, as if he had never seen me before. I didn't blame him.

"Yes, I'm sorry, I don't know your name, miss?" Harry asked me, strangely politely.

"Bree Tanner," I replied.

"I'm H…" he started, but I cut him off.

"I know who you are, war hero," I replied. I wasn't sure if my response came off as haughty or awed. I hoped the former.

Potter just nodded and motioned for me to continue talking, I had said I wanted to say something.

"Professor Snape was a courageous man, he didn't appear charming, he clearly favored us above all other houses and was biased against Gryffindors. He was a terrible headmaster," I heard a chuckle from the redhead at this.

"But I heard it was a guise because he needed to keep up appearances with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I believe he was a great teacher who put his students first, as much as a Slytherin is allowed to put anyone else first." I stopped talking suddenly. I am not sure what the people thought... _please don't cry, please don't cry_. _Come on, Slytherins don't cry…_ I wiped my pale hand across my face, horrified at the tears falling from my usually stony blue eyes.

I didn't know what to make of it when I was enclosed in a hug from none other than Harry Potter himself, but I tried not to dwell on it too much after the fact. My hands were shaking when he let me go, my eyes red and bloodshot, but I regained my composure.

"The show must go on," I said, trying to look tougher than my fourteen years. "Professor, you may not be missed by many, but I will hold you forever in my heart, and I will remember you as one of the greatest teachers I ever had," I concluded. I noticed the Gryffindors staring at me, even the teachers, including the new headmistress, McGonagall.

"That was lovely, Miss Tanner," Headmistress McGonagall said to me, and I glowed with the praise. I had never heard a good word from any other professor before.

I waited for the few others to say what they had to. Most of them just spoke about his bravery and how he had been misunderstood. I barely registered their words; if I was to keep myself from crying throughout the ceremony.

Eventually, the small group of witches and wizards started to disperse. They awkwardly walked away, one by one, until the only person left was me.

I walked over to the freshly marked headstone and knelt down close to it. I had so much to say to Professor Snape, that I hadn't been able to say in front of all those people, about how much I looked up to his legacy, about how he deserved better than this, about how this grave was not just his, but also for all those nameless people who died and suffered in this terrible war. I wonder why he chose to do things the way he did, becoming a spy wasn't really the Slytherin thing to do. But who am I to say what being a Slytherin really means?

But as I sat there, no words came. The silence was enough.


End file.
